The Leander Lab - Marine Zoology

Species Discovery & Evolution

Our research concentrates on the discovery and characterization of marine organismal diversity and comparative studies of novel morphological systems in predatory eukaryotes (i.e., marine zoology & protistology).

We are fundamentally interested in the diversity and evolution of organisms, particularly traits associated with feeding, locomotion and symbiotic interactions. By addressing specific hypotheses about trait evolution using comparative molecular methods, we study the innovations and transformations associated with broad patterns of organismal diversity (e.g., convergent evolution over vast phylogenetic distances).

This exploratory approach is motivated by the thrill of discovery, the beautiful and the bizarre, and the yearning to build a more comprehensive framework for understanding the interrelationships of life on Earth. The marine lineages we work on tend to be drop-dead gorgeous and reflect spectacular morphological diversity, such as meiofaunal & planktonic animals, euglenozoans, dinoflagellates, and marine gregarine apicomplexans.

Long Term Objectives

Discover and characterize novel marine organisms.
Reconstruct the evolution of complex ultrastructural traits.
Reconstruct instances of convergent evolution over vast phylogenetic distances.
Reconstruct patterns of trait evolution within the spaces between grains of sand.
Reconstruct the evolution of marine parasites.

High magnification SEM showing an anterior view of the terminal mouth cone on the head of a marine mud dragon (Kinorhyncha) called Echinoderes. This animal was collected on Calvert Island, British Columbia. Image: Herranz & Leander.

High magnification SEM showing details on the head (introvert) of a marine meiofaunal priapulid called Tubiluchus. Each "tooth" is about 8 microns wide. This animal lives in the spaces between grains of sand and was collected on the island of Curacao. Image: Herranz & Leander.

SEM showing the armored surface of a marine dinoflagellate (Alveolata) called Amphidiniopsis. This single-celled eukaryote lives in the spaces between grains of sand, is about 40 microns long, and was collected in Cap Feret, France. Image: Hoppenrath & Leander.

SEM showing the ciliated ventral surface of a marine predatory heterolobosean called Stephanopogon, which has independently evolved traits similar to those in ciliates (Alveolata). This single-celled eukaryote lives in the spaces between grains of sand and is about 26 microns long. Image: Yubuki & Leander.

SEM showing a pair of single-celled parasites in the act of sexual reproduction. These parasites, called Pterospora (Apicomplexa, Gregarinida) pulsate within the coelom of marine bamboo worms (Annelida, Maldanidae) by inflating and deflating their "arms" with cytoplasm. The pair is about 200 microns long. Image: Landers & Leander.

SEM showing the helically arranged strips on the surface of a single-celled photosynthetic eukaryote called Lepocinclis (Euglenida). The cell constantly twists and turns while it swims and is about 90 microns long. Image: Leander.